Researchers will conduct a large clinical trial designed to evaluate the impact of vitamin D and omega 3 in reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease among people with no prior history of such ailments. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund this $20 million study—dubbed the Vitamin D and Omega 3 Trial (VITAL). Scientists at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, intend to evaluate 20,000 U.S men and women over a period of five years. Women ages 65 or older and men ages 60 or older will take an estimated 2000 IU of vitamin D and/or about 1 gram of omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil either alone or in combination. Pharmavite, Northridge, CA, is providing the vitamin D supplements and Ocean Nutrition Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is supplying the fish oil. Recruitment for the study will begin in January 2010.